Lee & Katie: We Were Always Together
by Charmed777
Summary: Katie's had a crush on Lee ever since third grade. Three years later a huge mistake happens...and Katie swore she'd hate Lee forever. Four years later, they meet again under different circumstances. Will this time be different?
1. The Confession & Confrontation

I was just so surprised there werent any stories on Lee and Katie! I think they'd make a cute couple. Haha…anyway, here this goes. Please review!

**Disclaimer **I don't own Harry Potter or any of his world, but I would LOVE to something like this similar happening in the book.

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--- Chapter One ---  
**_The Confession and Confrontation_**

A wave of heat came flooding into the Common Room.

'Argh! Someone _please_ close that window!' yelled Angelina, throwing her book down on the floor.

'Calm down, Ange! It's only a window!' said Alicia, chewing on a somewhat melted candy cane.

Angelina ignored her friend, grumbling that she had to get up from her comfortable position sitting on one of the plush cushions reading _How To Reach Your Potential In Quidditch_ by Rithel Hindmarsh.

_Clang_. Katie's head jerked up from her light sleep.

'Wha…?' she slurred.

The door to the Common Room banged open, and the girls were greeted by a sweaty and smelly group of boys.

_Lee_. The name flashed through Katie's head as soon as he stepped into the room, the warm summer breeze from the open window ruffling his dreads.

'Hey Katie. You look dead,' hollered Lee, and behind him were his chuckling mates, Fred and George.

Angelina almost glided to Fred, and he welcomed her with open arms.

'Hello Ange.' Fred said, his voice muffled by her hair in his face.

'Hey Fred.' Angelina replied, her face burrowed in his shirt. Katie noticed Alicia was eyeing the couple with envy, and then turned her attention to George. It was obvious she had feelings for him; ever since George took her to the Yule Ball Alicia daydreamed _and_ dreamed about George.

Katie jerked herself back into reality. Her eyes were fixed on Lee, watching the way he laughed, the way he smiled. Katie prayed to God Lee wouldn't ever catch her staring at him, because he would probably just laugh himself silly, and would make Katie feel so stupid. Katie spent countless hours contemplating why she ever fell for Lee. He was like any average boy of his age, well apart from his warm eyes, that infectious laugh and that killer smile! Oh, how she would love for him to be in her arms…

'Katie! You alive or dead today? You look like death for one thing!' said Lee, grinning. Fred and George grinned too.

'Oh…me? Yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired,' said Katie, a appreciative smile playing her lips.

'That's good to know.' Lee smiled back.

Fred cut their little moment together short.

'Anyway!' Fred cleared his throat, 'Angelina and I are going to take off. Good luck with you guys.' Fred winked at Lee and George.

George's ears turned pink.

'What was that supposed to mean, eh?' George called after Fred, but he was long gone to hear him.

'So guys, what have you been up to lately?' said Alicia, awkwardly trying to break the silence.

'Same old, same old. I was trying to find out how I could detach Percy's arms for an hour or two with a jinx,' chortled George.

Alicia laughed, a merry, ringing and genuine laugh.

'You make me laugh,' said Alicia, smiled up at George.

'I like making you laugh,' replied George, his eyes twinkling a little.

Katie was amused to find that Alicia looked like she had just died and gone to heaven. Her eyes clouded over, and a dreamy look glazed over her face.

Katie glanced at Lee. Lee was trying to suppress his laughter, with his hand over his mouth. He looked at Katie and whispered, 'Looks like they're trying to compete with each other with a "Who-Has-the-Biggest-Smile" competition. I think we shouldn't bother them,'

Katie giggled. 'I think so too. I'd love to stay and watch, but…nah.'

Lee chuckled, and grabbed Katie's hand and made for the portrait hole. His warm hand in hers sent a shiver up her spine and her eardrums pounding.

Katie pulled herself out of the dark hole, and stood up on the cold tile floor.

'Lee…where are we going?' she asked uncertainly.

'Nowhere, to be honest. I just wanted to talk to you. _Actually_ talk, not mindless smile-off competitions.' said Lee. It seemed like a usual joke he would add to the end of anything he said, but this time he wasn't grinning or laughing. Lee had a look of sternness plastered to his face and Katie could sense a tenseness about him.

'Well, you seem pretty serious,' said Katie, hoping to lighten the mood.

Lee didn't reply, but nodded. Katie was bewildered up to this point. They had only turned left down the corridor and into a flight of stairs before Lee halted and held Katie gently by the shoulder. A million possibilities and thoughts ran through her mind. _Could this be it?_ She wondered to herself, her brain pounding and her heart aching with anticipation.

Lee was hesitant. He didn't want to tell Katie, but he needed to. For his own mind's sake of peace and to kill the inner guilty conscience that burdened him.

'Kate…' Lee trailed off, his eyes filling with fear. _What if she doesn't accept this decision? I'll die, for sure_, he told himself.

'Yes, Lee?' said Katie, brushing Lee's hand off gently from her shoulder.

Lee could of died then. He noticed where his hand had been, there was a wet patch in a vague, yet distinctable shape of his hand. He was so nervous he had grasped her shoulder so tight that his sweaty palm made an imprint! _Oh bloody hell! What's with me and luck? _Lee's mind yelled, feeling his cheeks flush with embarassment. Katie looked over to her shoulder.

She shook her head sympathetically and simply said, 'It happens.'

Lee tried focusing and regathering himself. _Okay, stop doing idiotic things and just say it!_ His mind yelled once more.

'Okay. I'll get this over and done with.' Lee said, his tone low and quiet. 'I like you.' he finally blubbered, his face turning a bright red colour. Luckily for him, it was hard to notice because of his dark skin.

'Oh…Lee…wow…,' was all Katie could stutter, but inside she felt her heart skip a beat and her stomach do a turn. _He finally said it! _Her mind exploded in happiness. She wanted to rush up and embrace him in a hug. But she didn't. She was glued to the spot, shocked by the revelation. Lee looked nervously at her. He was pretty sure she was going to turn him down, but being the nice girl she was, she would probably look for a decent and easy way to do it.

'Katie, you don't have to say anything if you don't like me. I understand.'

'No! It's not that!'

'No, Kate, I'm alright. You don't have to be nice, just be frank. I'll accept it…eventually.'

'Lee!'

'What?'

'I like you. And if you were joking about you liking me, you just made me feel like an idiot. Or _will _make me feel like an idiot.'

'I wasn't joking, Katie. I like you.'

'Um…okay. I gotta go now, sorry. Bye.'

Katie turned and whisked down the stairs. Lee looked down at the staircase, his eyes following Katie until she disappeared down another flight of stairs. He sighed. Lee now was more than positive that Katie had been lying to him, and couldn't turn him down because she was too "nice". He slowly walked back to the portrait hole, where he was met by the pink lady having tea with one of her friends from another painting.

'You look glum,' her friend piped, her words heavily laced with a French accent.

Lee didn't reply.

'Don't torment the young boy, Maegius!' scolded the pink lady.

'Oh I wont. Just curious. Can't a woman be curious?' her friend said, annoyed.

The pink lady ignored her and prompted, 'Password?'

'Mangolious.'

The portrait swung open, revealing the gaping black hole that had just changed his friendship with Katie forever.


	2. Who Am I Going to Take?

---Chapter Two---  
**_Who Am I Going to Take?_**

Lee groaned, pulling the sheets further over his head. The prospect of Transfiguration and possibly a long, dull chapter on Anamagi loomed ahead. But that wasn't it. There was _also _the thing he was dreading the most – talking to Katie. He imagined it to be awkard and pointless – it was definitely not the time to ask her to the Halloween Ball. _This wasn't how it was meant to be, _the words echoed angrily in his mind. He thought that Katie would admit that she liked him too. _How wrong I was_, he thought to himself bitterly.

Lee buried his face in his pillow. It was a Monday morning and he had no intention of getting up. It was going to be a lousy day anyway, nothing special. He might as well just stay in bed all day and pretend he was sick. Afterall, he was a professional at it. His thoughts were disrupted by a sudden, sharp pain in his back.

'Blimey! Don't do that!' Lee cried.

A familiar voice behind him sniggered. Lee tried to ignore the voice and the continous, violent jabs.

'Lee died.' called the voice. It was Fred.

'Hmm.' came a second voice, which Lee recognised as George. The twins came to bug him. This wasn't good.

'Get up, you lazy twit! If you miss Transfiguration and Potions and we don't, I see that as an unfair call!' said George, annoyed.

'Go away both of you! I am _sick _if you two haven't noticed,' said Lee, sounding even more irritated than George.

'Suit yourself, you grumpy bugger.' Fred replied. The prodding suddenly stopped, leaving Lee with a slight pain in his back. Determined to go back to sleep, he pushed aside his thoughts of Katie and drifted into a soft slumber.

He was woken by a sharp, harsh light beaming down on his face. Lee grumbled, turning to his left, pulling the sheets further up his head.

'Are you awake?' a soft, slight voice came from the end of his bed.

Lee's mind pounded in confusion. _Katie? _He struggled up, and groggily opened his eyes.

'Hey Lee!' her tone brightened when she saw him open his eyes.

'Katie?' said Lee, bewildered.

She laughed, her voice ringing his ears. 'Who else did you think it would be?'

'I didn't know girls were allowed into the boys' dorm – '

'Well apparently we are. But you aren't allowed in ours.' said Katie, smiling warmly. Lee sensed force behind her falsely bright tone and her smile.  
'Anyway, I brought you your homework. Snape was in a nasty mood and made us write two rolls worth on the potion we made today for homework,' Katie sighed, handing Lee a piece of parchment, on which she had neatly written all his homework up for him.

'Thanks Katie,' he said gratefully.

'I also brought you some pumpkin juice and pastries from lunch…seeing as you aren't feeling well. Are you okay, Lee?' Katie's eyes flickered with concern.

A pang of guilt hit Lee like he had been slapped across the face. Katie was genuinely concerned about his health and he missed class to avoid her? And she came up to visit him! He really didn't feel particularly well now. Lee felt the need to prove to her he was 'sick'. He let out a long, rattly cough, and was surprised with himself at how real it sounded.

'Oh no. You've got a cough. Lunch is finishing up, so I better go now,' Katie said hurriedly, gathering up her belongings and her bookbag. 'Well hope you get better soon.' And with that, she gave him a quick peck on the forehead before she dashed out of his room.

_That was definitely not right_, he thought. She used to do that to him for fun _before _yesterday's confrontation. Now she was acting like the entire incident hadn't happened!

_Well, that isn't a bad thing, _a small voice in his head said. Lee realised he had never been this depressed or worried about a girl in his life. He scolded himself for being so stupid, and heaved himself out of bed.

For a while, he sat there, his mind blank of thoughts as he downed his pumpkin juice. A deliberation suddenly sparked in his mind.

'Who am I going to take to the Halloween Ball?' he wondered aloud.

His mind wiped clean like a slate once again. He had pictured himself taking Katie to the Ball, but now there was not even a little glimmer of hope in that. Lee needed a date. Fast. The Halloween Ball wasn't far down the track, with only another week to spare. Lee buried his head in his hands. He sighed, and checked his watch. The longer hand was a mite bit past the little black four, and the smaller hand was on the one. _Another two or something hours of class, _he calculated, slumping back into bed.

'Mate! Wake up!' a fierce shaking roused Lee from his sleep.

'Yeah?' said Lee sleepily.

'You just missed dinner.' said the voice. Lee could just _feel _the smirk burning into his back.

'Fred, you bloody idiot! Why did you wake me up now?' said Lee irritably, sitting upright in bed.

'You deserved it, for jigging class,' said Fred with a grin. 'Don't worry, I brought you up a bread roll…'

Fred shoved Lee a crumbled bread roll.

'No thanks.' Lee pushed it back at Fred.

Fred shrugged, and Vanished it.

'Was that necessary?' Lee's eyebrows raised.

Again, Fred shrugged. 'So, who you taking to the Halloween Ball?' Fred gave Lee a hard nudge in his ribs.

'No one.' Lee glowered.

'What about…_Katie Bell_, perhaps?' suggested Fred with a wink.

'No! Not Katie – ' said Lee, receiving raised eyebrows from Fred.

'Why not?' interrupted Fred.

'She's probably going with someone else,' Lee answered, his face flushing.

'She isnt,' persisted Fred. 'She was asking George in Transfiguration today whether you had a date,'

'Why do I find that hard to believe?'

Fred grinned. 'Alright…maybe she didn't. But blimey, if you don't go with her – who _else _can you go with?'

'I don't care. As long as it isnt Katie.'

'I thought you _liked _Katie!'

'I did…well, I do, but – '

'But you should go with her.'

'No!'

'She doesn't like me!'

Fred blinked, and scoffed. 'Who said that?'

'She did.'

'She did not!'

'Look, this is pointless. She even told me so!' shot back Lee.

'Yeah, when?'

'Yesterday.'

'Pffft. You know perfectly well that she likes you. I'm going to go now, and maybe talk to your _girlfriend_. You wan't to come?' Fred asked from the doorway.

Lee rolled his eyes. 'No.'

'Who's got their knickers in a twist today?' grinned Fred, before disappearing behind the door.

Lee opened his mouth to yell profanity after him, but he decided not to. Lee groaned. He _really _wanted to take Katie to the Ball…but he knew he couldn't. Suddenly, his mind lit up. _I know who I can take! _He marvelled at his own ability to actually think at times needed. It wasn't Katie naturally, but still, he would love to take her…no. He shook the thought from his mind, reminding himself she didn't like him, not in the same way he liked her. No.

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_A/N Thanks a bunch to **misskrazykiwi**, **darkforest214 **& **Eruaphadriel** for reviewing my first chapter! Greatly appreciated.  
Also I have to apologise for the lame title to this chapter, my brain was really stuck for ideas, and also the long, boring nature of it.  
Another apology for the first chapter...the 'pink' lady, as I called her, is actually the Fat Lady. I havent read the books in ages, and I got a little confused. Sorry!  
Please keep reading and reviewing people! I promise this story will be going somewhere...it's going to get a hell lot more interesting in the next few chapters (hopefully)._

_So remember! Hit that little blue 'Go' button at the bottom and review!_


	3. The Halloween Ball

---Chapter Three---  
**_The Halloween Ball_**

Katie sighed, putting down her quill. She couldn't _think_. Her mind was swimming in thoughts, mostly of Lee. Katie couldn't help thinking about yesterday – he told her he liked her, but she just froze on the spot. She was half-expecting him the entire time to burst out laughing and do a chicken dance or something. Katie had never seen Lee so serious, and when he did ever seem sober, he was usually joking about it.

_ 'Katie, you don't have to say anything if you don't like me. I understand.'_

'No! It's not that!'

'No, Kate, I'm alright. You don't have to be nice, just be frank. I'll accept it…eventually.'

'Lee!'

'What?'  
'I like you. And if you were joking about you liking me, you just made me feel like an idiot. Or will make me feel like an idiot.'  
'I wasn't joking, Katie. I like you.'  
'Um…okay. I gotta go now, sorry. Bye.'

Katie slumped in her chair and rested her head on her Transfiguration textbook.

'Argh!' she shouted, frustrated.

That was the _perfect _moment. She had been waiting for Lee to tell her he felt the same way about her since third year, yet she still ran. _Why? _She thought to herself miserably. Katie wasn't usually shy or standoffish, but that day she didn't know what came over her. It may have been Lee's intense stare or her heart thumping faster than the speed of a bullet train, but she just didn't know. The second he uttered "I like you" she broke out in a cold sweat and an overwhelming sensation hit her in the head. Her mind went blank after that, and she was lost for words. Not wanting to look like an idiot, she ran off abruptly, leaving both Lee and herself in denial and bewildered.  
Katie sighed. She wasn't sure Lee was serious when he had told her he liked her. Katie was a modest person, and she didn't even like admitting to herself that someone liked her. _But do you remember Lee's eyes? _A small, sudden voice whispered in her head. Yes, she did. How could she forget? His eyes remained still – there wasn't that usual frivolous sparkle of unseriousness in them. Lee's eyes had suddenly flickered with surprise when she told him she was going – it had felt like the world was still for a second, just Lee and her. _Then it started turning again, and has been spinning faster than ever, _she thought bitterly to herself. Katie suddenly felt like crying. Her eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them out. Instead, she let out her emotions through anger.

'I hate you Lee Jordan!' she yelled.

The truth was obviously far from that, but Lee was tormenting both her heart and mind with her feelings for him and that was enough to drive her to insanity. She sat up straight in her chair, and rubbed her eyes. Katie was determined she wasn't going to cry because of Lee Jordan.

'Are you okay, Katie?' a voice asked from behind her.

Katie whirled around to see Alicia hovering behind her chair, carrying a load of books.

'Yeah.' said Katie, wiping her eyes on the sleeves of her robes.

'Oh…I've known you too long to take lies from you. What's wrong? Tell me Katie,' soothed Alicia, propping herself down on the floor next to Katie.

'Well – don't laugh when I tell you this but – ' Katie trailed off, unsure how Alicia would react.

'Yes?'

'It's about Lee.' Katie finally sighed, looking away.

'Oh, Katie!' cried Alicia.

Alicia was always one to dramatise a situation like this. Katie flushed, wondering what her friend was going to say next.

'Listen to me, Kate.' A fierceness in Alicia's voice struck Katie with surprise, and she turned to face her friend. 'If he is taking you for granted and isn't doing what he's supposed to be, I swear, I'll twist his neck and break off his limbs – '

This brought a weak smile to Katie's face.  
'Oh, Al, it's nothing like that. He told me he liked me, I told him he liked me and then something went wrong in between there. I don't know.' Katie looked miserable again.

Alicia patted her friend's back sympathetically, and said quietly quite unlike her tone before, 'Katie, I know it may seem strange and slightly disheartening for me to be telling you this, but if this _doesn't _work out, you'll know it wasn't meant to be, and you shouldn't worry yourself. If it does, well, it would be what everyone expected of you two,'

Alicia grinned. 'I know what will cheer you up. How bout we take you to Hogsmeade this weekend, free of charge? Angie and me will get you _anything _you want, for free, you wont even have to pay a Knut – '

'I cant make you do that!' protested Katie feebly.

'Rubbish. We're going to do that, and you can't stop us,' Alicia flashed her another grin, before picking up the large pile of books again.

'I'll probably be sleeping if you need me. Good night, Kate. I'd hug you, but I've got these sodding books to hold.' Alicia groaned at the weight of them.

'Good night Ali. Do you need any help?' offered Katie.

'Nah, I'll be fine.' and with that, Alicia trudged off to the girls' dormitory, leaving Katie by herself, once again in the silence of the Common Room.  
Katie bit the end of her quill. She was lost for what she could write next in her Transfiguration essay. The letters on the parchment just seemed like a jumble of miscellaneous squiggles and lines all over the page. She was too tired, she decided. Katie snapped her Transfiguration textbook shut, rolled up her parchment which her essay was written on, and feeling slightly better, and marched up to the girls' dorm, determined to get a good night's worth of shut eye.

The next morning came, bringing with it a turn of bad luck. The Gryffindors had double Herbology with Ravenclaw first, and Professor Sprout had brought in a new, bright purple plant for them to examine.  
Angelina and Alicia were kind enough to 'help' Katie avoid Lee, despite the fact Alicia was itching to go over and talk to George. Although Katie was careful to make sure Lee didn't catch her throwing glances at him, she couldn't help but try getting his attention when he started to talk to Patricia Stimpson.

She didn't mind Lee talking to other girls, but Patricia wasn't like other girls. She was blonde, tall and skinny – she was any man's dream. Katie didn't like to be superficial and hate anyone because they were gorgeous, but she did hate Patricia with a passion. Most of her close friends knew that, especially Lee. And the fact that he was standing there, allowing that _freak _to talk to him was just unbearable for Katie.

Angelina was the first to notice when she saw Katie watching the two with narrowed eyes and broke off a twig from the plant in front of her without noticing. The plant started wailing, snapping Katie out of her daze. She blushed furiously when the plant started crying louder, sounding awfully like an angry baboon. Soon enough, half the class had turned to Katie's plant, watching it with mild interest as it continued shrieking and howling.  
Professor Sprout rushed over, looking worried.

'Oh dear,' she mumbled, her brow furrowed. 'Miss Bell, may you have done anything to it to aggravate it? It seems like it may start Spitting soon.'  
Both Angelina and Alicia looked at the little violet plant in shock, backing away slowly.

'Um…I think I may have broken a twig off or something…' said Katie sheepishly, her face turning redder.

'Oh dear.' the Professor said again, and took a step back. 'It's starting to Spit, so, class, get outside _now_ if you do not want to be covered with a stinking yellow pulp for the next few days.'

The class exchanged horrified glances at each and rushed out of the Greenhouse, with Patricia in the lead screaming, 'I don't want it to get in my hair! Not my hair!'

'Not my hair! Oh, _not_ my beautiful hair!' cried Angelina dramatically, sounding so much like Patricia it left Katie and Alicia in stitches.

'Girls! Outside!' warned Professor Sprout.

The three girls proceeded outside, giggling.

Professor Sprout was the last one out, and hurriedly closed the door. _SPLAT! _Sure enough, most of the glass of the Greenhouse was covered in a thick, brown yellow substance.

'Go back in, I'll clean up the mess,' instructed the Professor.

The class reluctantly went back into the Greenhouse, most people wrinkling their noses at the stench of the substance.

'Ew, what is this?' shrieked Patricia.

'_Scourgify_!' cried the Professor, giving her wand a flick.

The scum vanished, but left the room in a faint, but recognisable stench of the yellow pulp. _BRRRING_. The bell rang, _and just on time_, thought Katie.  
The class advanced out of the Greenhouse, quieter than usual. The smell of the yellow substance must of left a lot of people in a stupefied daze, and only Patricia seemed to have returned to her normal self the instant they left the classroom. She was chattering loudly to Lee who looked quite bored.

'Anywaaaaaay,' purred Patricia, her voice dripping in sweetness. 'The Halloween Ball's in six days…'

Lee's heart skipped. _Damn. _He thought. He was _going_ to ask that girl who he thought was quite pretty from Ravenclaw to the Ball, but it seemed she already had a boyfriend.

'Would you like to come with me?' came Patricia's sappy voice.

Lee blinked in surprise. 'What?'

'Am I not good enough for you?' Patricia said slowly yet teasingly.

'Oh…I'm not sure I'm going – ' lied Lee. He'd hate to be stuck with Patricia for five hours.

'Aw Lee! Are you turning me down?' she battered her long, fake lashes at him.

He felt a bit sick. 'Well, no – ' Lee was actually quite the gentleman, and he was clueless on how he could get Patricia to back off.

'Good. Then it's settled. You're coming with me!' she beamed, and flounced off to a few Hufflepuff boys in front, linking one in her arms.

Lee felt sicker than he did before. He was taking Patricia Stimpson to the Ball? He'd prefer to shoot himself then get eaten by rats than take Patricia to the Ball.

'What have I done?' he muttered to himself, wincing.

'Helloooo darling!' came a squeaky, high-pitched voice from behind him. A great, big hand slapped his shoulder.

'Hullo George,' Lee said, rolling his eyes.

'I saw you talking to Patricia then. What did she say?' his eyes twinkled mischievously.

'She wanted me to go to the Ball with her,' he groaned. 'Blimey, even Crabbe and Goyle over there could think faster than her,'

George burst out laughing, and looked at Lee with something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Was George annoyed that he was going to the Ball with Patricia? He wasn't sure.

'I wouldn't mind taking her to the Ball!' he declared.

'You can have her if you want,' said Lee hopefully.

'I'd love to mate, but I've got plans with Alicia.' George said, his eyes lighting up. 'Speaking of which…oi! Alicia!' he called over the din of the Great Hall.

Alicia poked her head out from a few of her girl friends, and beamed when she spotted George.

'Yeah, well I gotta run. Tell me what happens with Patricia,' laughed George.

'Funny,' Lee said sarcastically, shoving George into a passing first year, who looked quite frightened at the prospect of being crushed to the ground by a tall seventh year, almost two heads taller. The first year quickly brushed off his robes and scuttered away.

The days slowly ebbed by, drawing the entire school closer and closer to the Halloween Ball. It was just another two sleeps until the Ball, but Katie still hadn't gotten a partner. _Was Lee going to ask her, or did she have to ask him?_ She wondered.  
_BAM. _The door from the girls' dormitory to the Common Room slammed close, and in the doorway stood Patricia Stimpson. Katie had to try hard to refrain herself from rolling her eyes.

'Heeeello Katie,' she simpered, her mouth curling into a nasty smile.

'Hi Patricia.' replied Katie, not looking up from the Quidditch book she was reading.

'Guess who's going to the Ball with me?' Her tone was ecstatic.

Katie put down her book. 'No. Who?' she asked curiously.

'Lee Jordan!' Patricia gushed, ignorant of the horrified and disgusted look on Katie's face.

'W-what? He asked you?' she stammered.

'Oh no! He would have though, if _I _didn't ask him.' a horrible smile came to Patricia's lips.

'Ah. I didn't expect more of Lee,' Katie said curtly, but before Patricia could figure out what she had meant, Katie disappeared into the portrait hole.  
The evening of the Halloween Ball had finally arrived, and the three girls were getting ready. Katie was the first of them to finish, dressed in sage coloured robes that trailed lightly on the floor as she walked. Angelina had dressed in flowing, velvety robes of deep purple and had twisted her hair into an elegant knot at the back of her head, while Alicia opted for pastel green robes made of silky, light material, and had left her long, glossy chestnut hair out. Katie thought they both looked a little different.

'Hurry up guys!' Katie called, from the end of the stairs that lead into the Great Hall.

'Coming!' came Alicia's distant voice.

Katie sighed. This was going to be a _long _night.  
When the trio had finally stepped foot into the Great Hall, Fred and George Weasley promptly rushed to Angelina and Alicia's sides.  
Angelina shot Katie an apologetic look, but Katie shook her head, and forced a smile. Katie scanned the Hall, trying to find someone she knew; Angelina and Alicia weren't any fun when Fred and George were around.

'Hi Katie,' an overly sweet voice greeted her.  
_  
Not Stimpson again_.

'What?' she said, a little more irritably than she hoped she would of sounded.

Katie turned slightly to her left to get a better view of Patricia. She was wearing a particularly hideous pink robes that stood out in the dimness of the Hall.

'Look who found me,' she said.

Katie wanted to punch the spoiled brat in the face. Even through the darkness, she could still tell Patricia was smirking, satisified she had Lee. Lee was standing quite some distance away in the shadows, and Katie couldn't see his face.

'Whoopee,' said Katie in a sarcastic tone, and stalked off. She didn't have time for Patricia's stupid taunts.

Lee felt worse than anything that moment right then. He could not believe he was at the Ball with Patricia Stimpson, of _all _people – he could not believe he wasn't sharing this with Katie. His heart ached with regret – why had he not declined Patricia's invite? Why had he stood there stupidly, his mind blank for words? He knew now he should have asked Katie a long time ago, but it was too late now. Katie had stormed off a few moments ago, and probably would never forgive him for going to the Ball with Patricia Stimpson.  
She didn't understand it; Lee had told her he liked her but instead of doing anything about it takes Patricia Stimpson to the Ball? Katie wasn't sure if she was more confused than angry.

'Those prats,' she muttered, now no longer within seeing distance of Lee and Patricia.

'Who's a prat?' a innocent voice asked.

Katie looked up in surprise to find herself staring into the stern, hazel eyes of a tall seventh year. Well, at least she thought he was a seventh year.

'Uh – no one. You aren't one anyway,' Katie said quickly.

The boy's eyes suddenly lit up. 'Oh, I know who you are! You're Katie Bell, one of the Gryffindor Chasers!'

Katie looked at him with surprise. 'Hey…wow! You know who I am!' she felt her inside swell with pride. 'But I don't know who you are,' she added.  
The boy laughed. 'I didn't think you would. I'm Tom. Tom Reiner from Hufflepuff,' he outstretched a hand, in which Katie shook in return.

'So, do you play Quidditch?' asked Katie curiously.

'Unfortunately, no. But I like it, and I'm a keen Quidditch fan.' he told her.

The two were soon talking like old friends, mainly about Quidditch. When Katie was just about bored talking about Quidditch he'd change the subject, but would soon switch back to Quidditch. She found this tiresome, but still appreciated his company.

'I'm a Cannons fan myself – ' his enthusiastic listing of his favourite Quidditch teams was suddenly cut short by Dumbledore.

'I'm sure we've filled ourselves well up… ' Dumbledore gave his wand a flick and the gold plates were void of food again. 'So without further ado, let the dance begin.' He beamed and gave his wand another wave.

The lights in the Great Hall automatically dimmed, leaving only the jack-o-lanterns lighting up the place. Dance music flooded the Hall, Katie recognising one of the songs from The Weird Sisters.

'Dance?' Tom shouted over the music.

'Yeah, okay!' agreed Katie, getting up.

They walked gingerly over to the middle of the Great Hall, which had been cleared for dancing. There were already a few couples dancing, and to Katie's exasperation, Lee was already there with Patricia. He had such an uninterested look on his face it seemed as if Patricia had not been dancing with him, Lee probably would've flopped to the ground like a puppet and would have fallen asleep. Tom studied her carefully as shot one last irritated glance at Patricia and Lee before rolling her eyes and looking back up at Tom.

'Old boyfriend?' he inquired, nodding towards Lee.

Katie was both surprised and annoyed by his observances and queries.

'Nah. Never liked him. I just don't like the girl,' she lied.

Through the soft light, she could see Tom give her a grin.

'I'm glad then. I never really liked any of those two,' he informed her.

Katie felt a little annoyed again. _He doesn't even know Lee_, she thought. _What does he have against him? But then again, Lee is a prick. I don't know why I'm defending him. _  
Whenever Lee found his way into her mind, Katie would feel just a little more depressed and her heart would beat faster. She shook the thoughts of him from her head. _NO! I'm going to have a nice evening, **without **Lee, and that's final._  
Katie was now resolved to not let thoughts of Lee ruin her evening with Tom. She grabbed Tom's hand and led him into the middle of the dance floor.

'Don't – you think we need a little – little rest?' Lee panted.

He was exhausted from dancing two hours straight with Patricia, who seemingly had unlimited bouts of energy and just did not stop dancing.

'No! We can't stop!' Patricia shrieked in delight, her hand tightly grasped around Lee.

He sighed. She was determined to keep dancing, so he might as well just dance until his legs snapped off so he would never have to dance with Patricia again.  
The quick tempo Latin tune finally came to an end when the last note finally faded away. Lee let out a sigh of relief, and clutched his stomach. His muscles tensed when another song struck up. Lee groaned. _What? Lord, help me!  
_  
'Oh my God! It's a slow dance song!' screeched Patricia in delight.

'Aggggh. At least it's slow,' moaned Lee, his stomach still aching.

Patricia clutched onto his shoulders with her deep red fingernails, digging them into his robes.

'I don't know how to slow dance…' lied Lee, pulling away from Patricia.

'Nonsense! Put your hands around here! There!' she said, slapping Lee's hands around her waist.

_Oh great. This is JUST great. _He thought petulantly to himself.  
They danced without speaking for a few minutes, and Lee was more than grateful for the silence between them. But then, Patricia, feeling awkward of the silence, leapt on Lee and whispered fairly loudly, 'Kiss me!'  
Before Lee could come up with an excuse, her lips had met his in a unnaturally strong force; she had practically toppled onto him. He didn't enjoy her kiss at all. It felt obnoxious – like as if she was annoying him with one of her stupid questions. She was really forceful, and almost sucked up his face. He desperately tried pulling away, but it only made her press her lips harder on his.

'Pfffrishaa!' Lee said, frantically pushing Patricia away.

A small crowd of people were around them now, watching them bemusedly. She finally let go, with a smirk on her face bigger than ever. He felt like heaving. Lee could still taste a repulsive savour in his mouth – what was it? It was so…Patricia.

'Excuse me,' he said thickly, his mouth tinging with the taste of Patricia. Lee bolted into the closest boys' bathroom he could find.

Unbeknownst to Lee, Katie had witnessed the entire kiss only a matter of feet away. Katie's fists slowly clenched and unclenched, her nails digging in deeper into her skin everytime. _He…was…kissing…her. _The thought replayed itself over and over again in her mind, despite her mind's protests. Katie's heart had just been shattered into a thousand pieces by the only boy who ever held it – and now it was too late to repair it. Katie had first expected herself to get mad over this when she was witnessing the kiss, but as the kiss deepened between the two she could feel her heart aching and tears stinging her eyes. There wasn't any hate in her heart that moment, it was just pain.

'Katie?' came the distant voice of Tom.

She refused to hear him. Tears were involuntarily rolling down her cheeks now, her eyes burning and her heart throbbing painfully. She detested the feeling surging and tormenting herself…why did she have to like Lee? Katie wiped her eyes, and darted out of the Hall back to the Gryffindor's Common Room, despite Tom's pleading calls.

* * *

_  
A/N Yeah, I changed the summary a little cos I thought it was pretty important to know for the story. If when the story is set is confusing you, you're right to be confused. I finally decided that it happen's in their seventh year, but it's as if the Umbridge thing hadn't happened at all, and the Weasley twins end up graduating. Hope you don't mind!  
Oh and I also wrote up the third chapter so fast because I was feeling bored and thought I'd write. This chapter's very long compared to the other ones too, so this should keep you going for a while until I post up the next chapter in a couple of days. Sigh. I don't really like this chapter, it's so long cos it's going nowhere, and I had no idea what I was doing._

_Thanks for reviewing again, **Eruaphadriel**!_

_P.S Patricia's actually in the book, mentioned in the fifth, I think. There's no indication that she's blonde and gorgeous and in Gryffindor in the book, but I decided that she would be in my story. _


	4. No Longer Friends

--- Chapter Four ---  
_  
**No Longer Friends**_

Sunlight flickered through the room, bathing Katie Bell's bed in warmth. Groggily, she opened one eye. Yes, she still was in bed, and it was already quarter past nine; but luckily, it was a Saturday. She slept late last night, after the incident with Lee, Patricia and Tom. Now feeling very embarassed of how she cried in front of Tom and deserted Tom, her cheeks flushed pink. For the next few minutes, Katie lay there, hardly moving, reflecting on what had happened last night. She flinched when she remembered Lee and Patricia … kissing.  
Her thoughts disappeared and were replaced by turbulent emotions of rage. Katie had liked Lee all those years … so why can't she just hate him now? Afterall, he is _with _that _scarlet woman_. Katie's mouth quipped intoa small smile, when a memory jerked her mind. Lee was fond of the insult 'scarlet woman' because he found it highly amusing and hilarious. The smile faltered. She didn't want to be thinking about Lee, after what he had done to her last night. Katie's blood boiled and bubbled withanger when Lee came across her mind. Last night she had been so depressed and poigant she had failed to see the big picture, which promptly dawned on her the following morning. Lee was an idiot. For four years, she realised, she had been _wasting _her time fancying Lee when she could have been out with other boys and having fun. Instead, she refused any sort of propisition of a date or such from any boy that didn't take the form of Lee Jordan. She waited, waited four bloody long years to see him kiss the bint of the century.

'I've already wasted enough time on that sodding git. I'm going to fly my broom,' she muttered angrily to herself, her temper subsiding slightly.

Katie always felt better when she had some time to herself to fly. Grabbing her cloak, she quickly brushed her hair into a ponytail and dashed out of the room.

'Pass the maple syrup,' said Lee Jordan thickly through a mouthful of eggs.

'Not on your mother's grave. You'll have to get it yourself,' said Fred, clutching onto the maple syrup for dear life.

Lee made a lunge for it, missing it narrowly.

'And _another _amazing save from the fantastically awesome Fred Weasley!' said Fred triumphantly.

'Oh, be quiet. You're as fantastic as my spoon,' said Lee shortly, jabbing Fred sharply with his spoon.

'What a marvellous spoon it is! Simply splendid –' began Fred, until his twin brother George cut him short of his spoon speech.

'Morning all! Miss me?' said George, taking a seat next to Fred.

'Not a bit,' replied Lee, now leaning in his chair and glancing over at Ron who happened to be sitting next to him, rapt with scoffing down his breakfast at an alarming rate.

'How absolutely _spiffing _it is to see you Ron, old boy!' exclaimed Lee, patting Ron hard on his back.

He choked.  
'Hullo Lee,' he replied weakly, coughing.

'Man. Haven't seen you around. How've you been?' asked Lee.

'Not bad,' said Ron,tearing his bacon violently in half with his knife.

Suddenly, Ron looked up from his almost empty plate and asked, 'So what was the thing last night with Patricia?'

It was an innocent question sure enough, but Lee could see Fred and George watching on with great interest from the corner of his eye.

'Yeah, what _did _happen with Patricia, eh?' asked Fred, sniggering.  
Lee shot him an irritable look.

'Nothing. She thought she'd have a go at sucking my face off from my head. Horrible stuff,' he replied, in what he thought was the most bored tone he could muster.

George wiggled his eyebrows. 'Are you sure about that?'

Lee ignored his question, but continued on to say, 'Well, did anything happen with _Alicia_?'

Lee grinned broadly watching Fred's ear-to-ear smile fade.

'None of your business, mate,' said George, no longer smirking.

'So you _did _do something with her, then? What was that, George?' said Lee, thoroughly enjoying every second of taunting George.

Beside him, Ron snorted into his plate.  
'Your with Alicia now?' he questioned his elder brother.

George shot his brother a look of death, which Ron promptly disregarded.  
'Be quiet, you little nit. We'll tell Mum you've been going round the school kissing girls - ' said George furiously.

'- one in particular being Hermione Granger,' finished Fred.  
Ron turned a brilliant shade of crimson, and didn't say anything further at breakfast.

A distant grandfather clock chimed ten as Lee was pulling on socks in the boys' dormitory.  
'I'm going out for a bit of a fly,' called Lee to the twins, sliding on his shoes.  
They muttered something about coming down later as well, and with that, Lee swiftly made his way down to the broom shed on the Hogwarts' grounds. He stepped outside, the lazy early afternoon sun effulging down on him. The wind was cool and crisp; a perfect day for flying he concluded. Strangely enough, when he reached the broom shed, it was already unlocked and wide open. He walked in, the musty, damp smell overwhelming him. Lee squinted through the darkness for his Cleansweep Seven. He didn't play Quidditch for Gryffindor, but nevertheless, enjoyed it. He unlocked his slightly battered and old broom from the holder, and a second later had mounted it and was soaring through the sky.

He circled the lake a few times, enjoying the sensation of the light breeze against his face. Lee closed his eyes for a brief moment, before blinking open to find someone soaring directly in front of him, about some twenty or thirty metres up ahead. He squinted hard. It was a girl, her long dark, brown hair billowing messily in the gust of the wind. Who was it? She looked familiar … abruptly, the girl made a quick, clean swerve to the left. A twinge of familiarity struck Lee like a Filibuster Firework – no one could veer off so suddenly quite like Katie Bell could.  
_Who was that? _Katie strained to see who was on the broom opposite her, but was finding it impossible with the sun directly in her eyes. She turned right sharply, zipping past the mystery person. She caught a blur of the boy on his broom, but didn't want to believe her own eyes. The chocolate brown skin and dreads … who else could it be but none other than Lee Jordan?  
The disruption of finding Lee airborne with her abruptly cut Katie's flying session short, as she went in for a hasty landing, dismounting her Galaxy and locking it safely back in its holder. She whirled around, praying to God she wouldn't 'bump' into Lee on her way back to castle. Unfortunately, God must have not been paying much attention to her at that time as the next thing she knew, she had walked straight into the arms of Lee Jordan.  
'Watch it!' yelled a peeved Katie, untangling herself from the tall boy and his broom in front of her. Her heart sank when she looked up. She was gazing into Lee's unmistakably brown eyes. For a split second, Katie thought she had seen the seriousness flicker in his eyes before he quickly looked away, clearly embarassed.

'I'm going,' said Katie curtly, striding out of the dark broom shed.

'Wait!' Lee grabbed her hand.

She halted, whirling around to meet Lee's eyes again.  
'What?' she said impatiently, glaring up at him with her firm, hazel eyes.

Lee scratched the back of his head, looking slightly reluctant and embarassed.

'I, uh, just want to apologise, you know, for yesterday … ' he stuttered, feeling his face heat up.

Katie broke him off with an angry rant. 'Apologise for what, Lee? Apologise for snogging that horrible blonde stick-insect?' She breathed out, and continued in a hurtful, sarcastic tone. 'Oh yes, I'm _sure _that you'd want to apologise for that. You had the time of your life with her, didn't you?'

Lee could suddenly feel his anger rise. _Who does Katie think she is? She doesn't have a right over me! And I came to apologise to her! What more does she bloody want?_

'Man, you know what, Katie? If you _don't _want my apology, that's perfectly fine with me. What do you bloody want from me anyway? I tell you you I like you but then you just turn me _down _– ' he said heatedly, but was again interrupted by Katie.

'Excuse me, Lee Jordan? If you really had meant what you said, which is doubtful, I did tell you I liked you but I guess "I like you" was too difficult to register in your mind. Is that why you asked Patricia _Stimpson_ –' Katie spat the last word with a look of pure disgusttwisted on her usually pretty and cheerful face,'to the Halloween Ball?'

'I didn't ask her! She asked me!' yelled Lee, his fists clenching.

'Well why did you say 'yes' then?' shouted Katie back.

'I – DON'T – KNOW!'

'STOP MAKING UP BLOODY EXCUSES LEE JORDAN! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR BULLSHIT!'

Katie's face was red. She gave Lee one last glare before uttering, 'I hate you Lee, and I'll never, ever trust you again.' and stormed off.

Lee gawped at her. 'I hate you too!' he shouted after her, but she was too far gone to hear him. He was more than mad. Katie – of all people – blamed _him _for willingly kissing that blabbering numbskull? She may have the looks … but certainly didn't have any brains whatsoever. _And Katie … I thought she would understand me. I always thought Katie would understand me, but I guess I had always made a mistake there. _The words bitterly echoed in his mind, as he slowly sauntered up the forever changing Hogwarts stairs to whatever awaited him in his dormitory.  
Lee peered into the room. No one was there, not even Fred or George. He sighed, and walked out again. _The first thing to do_, a little voice said in his head, _is to break things off with that skeletal dung bat_. He had absolutely no objections to this – he was dying to tell Patricia how retarded and irksome she really was, especially when she would think he was listening to her rave on about Marlen Sliggaworth, perhaps the most hideous lead singer of any wizarding rock band. 'He is _so _awesome!' she'd exclaim. Lee thought this was ridiculously funny. No _one_ thought Marlen Sliggaworth was awesome – when ever his band played live they'd be pelted with rotting tomatoes, onions and not to mention, hexes and spells of all sorts. Obviously, Lee had been mistaken. Marlen had one fan. One very stupid fan.

'Leeeeeeeeeeee!' came a loud, echoing voice.

Lee froze, his neck prickling.

'Bloody hell. She doesn't have to scream louder than a friggin' banshee,' he mumbled in a low voice.

'What?' came his exasperated reply.

Patricia waltzed up to him, hardly noticing his annoyed tone.

'I was wondering if we could go to Hogsmeade _together _this weekend,' she said, battering her glittery, fake eyelashes**.  
**  
'No.' said Lee flatly.

Patricia's mouth opened wide in shock. 'Why not!' Her big, blue eyes began watering, as if she had shoved a large, red hot chilli down her throat that very second.

'Newsflash: Guys don't like girls who have squirrel faeces in their head instead of a brain. And that's why I'm er, putting an end to this um, relationship.'

Lee thought he had said that quite well, and was impressed with himself. However, Patricia must have thought very much of the opposite. Her huge, fish-like eyes flooded with tears, and her usually blemish-free face splotched red.

'You are a _wanker_!' she wailed, hurling a small, paper box to the ground. It made an odd, squelching noise as it hit the cold, tiled floor. 'I baked a cake for you! It was your favourite, cheese and radish,' Patricia blubbered, who now was slowly backing away from Lee.

Lee shot her a look of bewilderment.

'Cheese and radish?' he echoed blankly. 'Where on earthdo you get your information from, woman?'

She still didn't seem to have gotten the hint, and just couldn't stop the waterworks. Her eyes were more bloated and puffier than ever – Lee thought she looked like a swelling pufferfish. Just as Lee was about to leave, he couldn't help feeling sorry for the lunatic girl. Afterall, no one in their right mind would date her any longer than a week.  
'I'm sorry. You're just … not my, er, type,' he said, stopping in his tracks – struggling to find words that wouldn't offend the girl.  
She sniffled loudly in reply, and wiped her eyes. Lee was pleasantly surprised when she nodded only once and left the room quietly. Lee was beginning to think she had a brain,but only until afew minutes later, whena loud and obnoxious voice was heard cursing and snivelling loudly.

Katie barged into the bedroom, pulled out a lollipop and a recent issue of _Witch Weekly_ from under her bed andran out again. Alicia Spinnet and Lavender Brown who had been in the room playing with Muggle nail varnish stared after her, puzzled. Katie wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. She just needed to settle down in the Common Room and avoid the twit of the century – none other than Lee Jordan himself. Katie flopped onto one of the softer, plusher cushions on the floor close to the warm, roaring fire in the fireplace. She sucked happily on the sherbet pop for a good twenty minutes or so, until she was left welling a plastic lollipop stick in her mouth. Katie threw the chewed stick into a nearby waste basket with accuracy and tossed the magazine to a table close to her.

'Impressive, dear Katie.'

Katie whirled around in confusion. _Dear Katie? Who said that – oh, it was George._

She let out a weak, strained laugh.

'Yes, indeed,' she replied.

'I was worried for a second there though, Katie, your face was screwed up and you resembled somewhat a ballooned elephant.' added George calmly, handing Katie a suspcious-looking pastry; greatly resembling the twins' Canary Creams.

'Canary Cream?' Katie asked, ignoring his previous comment.

George nodded. 'Yes, you can slip one to Lee. He's been a bit of an arsehole lately. He deserves being Canaried.'

Katie laughed, the same strained laugh again. 'Alright, George. Although I think he isn't that easily fooled.'

'You'll have to figure out a way then,' said George, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. 'I have to go now … Fred will be in trouble, no doubt, without the guidance of the amazing George Weasley … '

Katie giggled and gave George a wave, clutching the Canary Cream in her left hand. She had spent enough time in the warm Gryffindor Common Room - maybe she needed a little stroll around the school. Katie went down a couple of flights of stairs and turned left into a corridor, quite unsure of where she was going. She was turning, twisting, until she arrived at a large, oak door in an otherwise desolated corridor. It was quite familiar … Katie strained her memory as she ran her fingers across the intricate detail carved onto the oak. _Creak_. Katie leapt back in surprise as the door made a tiny sound, and clicked open. A tall, familiar dark-haired boy strolled out, his hands full of books. Tom Reiner. This must be to the Hufflepuff Common Room …

'Hello, Katie!' he said brightly, dropping the books and embracing her in a short, unexpected hug.

'Um, hi Tom,' she said, her eyes distant.

He furrowed his brow in concern.

'Oh no, don't tell me, it's that Lee guy isn't it?'

'What! Um, no – er no,' she said sheepishly, as his dark brown eyes penetrated her.

'It is. Look, I'll put these damn library books away, and you can come with a walk with me and we'll talk. How does that sound?'

Katie wasn't eager to go walking with Tom, but it wasn't like she had anything to do, so …

'Yeah sure.'

As they strolled to the library, Tom did most of the talking and chatting, while Katie listened only half-heartedly.

'Look, that Jordan character, he was nothing. He didn't even make the Quidditch team, for the love of God,' said Tom, rolling his eyes.

Katie felt an urgeto defend Lee once again, despite the hatred she was feeling towards him at the moment.

'Well, he is a very good Quidditch _commentator_ … and he never really tried out for the team,' she informed him.

'I guess,' he said thoughtfully, shifting the weight of the books.

They walked in silence to the rest of the library, where Tom finally deposited the huge pile of books on the library's "returns" desk.

'How 'bout you and me, next Friday night?' Tom said suddenly.

Tom's unexpected proposition startled Katie.  
'To do what?' said Katie uncertainly.

'Anything. We can go the lake,' beamed the tall Hufflepuff boy.  
Katie paused for a second. _The lake? But that's where Lee and I used to go … _she remembered; andcould feel the familiar rush ofunwanted tears stinging her eyes. Katie held them back.

'That seems like a good idea,' she heard herself say.

Tom Reiner shot her a dazzling smile and clapped his hands together.

'That's great! I'll meet you after supper at seven?'

'Seven sharp.' agreed Katie.

He smiled again, and leant forward for a hug. Katie could only stand there as he embraced her in such a tight, gripping hug; one in which she could hardly breathe. He let go just as she was about to run out of air. Promptly, Tom turned his heel and strided out of the library, before giving Katie one last enthusiastic wave.

* * *

_A/N Hello all! Havent updated in a while, I got carried a little carried away with my new Sims game.  
There really should be more Katie and Lee fics. That makes me even sadder that there are hardly any on them. It's all Katie and Oliver. Katie Bell and Oliver Wood together is just WRONG.  
And thanks to **Euraphadriel**, **darkforest214** & **LCH8292** (haha yes, they WILL be tortured! evil laugh) for reviewing.  
You guys are awesome!  
It's all good. Please REVIEW. I'm really lost for ideas, and would welcome any new ones, but I am promising mushiness in the sixth/seventh chapter… !  
Also, forgive me if I made yet another mistake – the flying bit. Can students fly around Hogwarts? Tell me if I made a mistake XD.  
I was also wondering: is Katie a year below Angelina, Alicia, Lee, Fred and George in the book? I always thought they were in the same grade (and really hope they are) … _

Anyhoo, toodles.

Enjoy, and I'll update in a day or two.

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince awaits to be read :-P


	5. It's A Date

---Chapter Five---

_**It's A Date**_

'Katie, remind me again why you're going out with that pompous Hufflepuff Reiner?' prompted Angelina, who was lying on her bottom bunk bed. Her brow was ever so slightly furrowed, as if in thought. Katie could see she was attempting to turn a matchstick into a tiny replica of her owl.

'He's not pompous!' said Katie indignantly, blushing furiously.

Alicia stiffled a giggle as she gave her mahogany wand a graceful flick. Katie's silky brown hair piled itself in a loose bun, brushing her neck everytime she moved.

'Thanks, Leesh.' said Katie, brushing back a stray strand of hair.

The half-matchstick and half-owl flapped feebly over to the full-length mirror at which Alicia and Katie were standing, and gave a quiet hoot. It fell onto Alicia's shoulder, motionless. Angelina rushed over, a mixture of amusement and annoyance on her face.

'I spent almost half an hour making this stupid matchstick bird. And this is how it repays me! By dying!' exclaimed Angelina, prodding the presumably dead matchstick-owl.

She picked it up carefully by its tiny wings and put it into a small, red tin can resting on her bed and set her wand at another matchstick. Alicia glanced over her shoulder at Angelina and her attempted Owl Transfigurations, but then her attention flickered back to Katie.

'Well you're done now!' said Alicia, patting her friend on the back.

'I guess I am,' replied Katie, quickly examining herself in the mirror. She felt uncomfortable in the robes she was wearing – Alicia thought it would be a good idea to wear casual robes, instead of their uniform. Katie soon found herself dressed in her favourite casual robes (one made of silky, indigo blue material) and looking as though she was going to someone's wedding.

'Hurry, then! You don't want to be late,' said Alicia, shoving Katie's wand into her hand.

'Uh, yes, thanks. Bye Angie and Alicia, I'll be back as soon as I can,' called Katie, who was now rushing down the corridor that lead to the stair case. She stopped dead in her tracks, making sure there werent any teachers sneaking about, hoping to catch pupils creeping out as she was. Katie gave her surroundings another quick scan before bolting out the corridor and down the flight of stairs into the Common Room.

What she didn't know though, was that there were people watching her – not teachers fortunately, but unfortunate enough to be the very eyes of Lee Jordan. Lee and the Weasley brothers were cleverly hiding in a dusty, cramped space behind a suit of armour. As Katie rushed down the steps, Lee gave George a sharp jab in the back.

'Scoot!' he hissed at George.

'Careful, Lee. Just because you're still in love with Katie – ,' began George irritably.

'Doesn't mean we're going to help you stalk her.' said Fred, rubbing his elbow which he had jammed into the armour when he was getting up.

'Who said I ever loved her!' objected Lee.

'Everyone.' Fred and George sniggered.

'Shut up.'

'No, YOU shut up.'

'Twits.'

'Extremely handsome twits at it too,' added George, puffing out his chest.

Lee made a face, and pulled out an Invisibility Cloak from his robe's pocket.

'Blimey! Where'd you get that?' asked Fred, who was goggling at the bundle of slinky, silver material in Lee's hand.

'Borrowed from Harry,' replied Lee, throwing the cloak over his shoulders.

'You coming?' added Lee, who had now disappeared from the Weasley twins' sight.

'Can we fit?' asked George calmly, who was swatting the air violently with both his hands.

Lee ducked as he narrowly missed George's incoming left hand.

'Oi!' roared Lee, 'Watch it!'

'Keep your bloody voice down!' said Fred, eyeing the stair case.

'Okay okay! Get under here now!' Lee ushered the twins under the slightly too small Invisibility Cloak.

'Er… our feet are showing.' pointed out Fred.

'Doesn't matter,' said Lee hurriedly, 'We'll be hiding in bushes or something anyway.'

'I can't walk!' grumbled George, who squashed in between Fred and Lee, rendered quite unable to walk.

'Shuffle those feet of yours, George!' snickered Fred.

George tried to turn his head to give his brother a glare, but under the cloak that was obviously not meant for three, tall seventh-year boys, it was rather impossible.

'Let's just go!' said Lee impatiently to Fred and George.

'Yes ma'am,' said Fred, to which Lee returned with a roll of his eyes.  
Katie fingered the sleeve of her robe nervously. _Was Tom even going to show up_? She wondered to herself. Katie turned her head slightly, just enough to glance over her shoulder up at Hogwart's entrance. If Tom did not turn up as he said, she'd be making a fool of herself. Katie checked her wristwatch.

_7.04. _Still time. Katie checked it again. The '4' was no longer there - but now was a '5'. She was starting to feel nauseous. Tom didn't seem to be the type of person who would turn up late to anything, especially not a date.

'5 more minutes,' Katie mumbled to herself.

If Tom didn't turn up then, Katie would leave, and perhaps give up on men all together. Too unrealiable. Too complicated. Too -

'Katie?' said a familiar voice from behind.

Katie swiveled around, to find none other than Tom Reiner, still in his robes and Hufflepuff uniform.

'You look pretty,' he noted shyly.

She blushed lightly.

'Thanks,' nodded Katie. 'You um... look er, good too,'

'You don't have to lie,' said Tom, turning a slight shade of red. 'I should've worn something else instead of my grotty uniform...'

'No, you look good. I overdressed, that's all,' said Katie, a little stiffly.

'Well... I think you look very nice,' Tom's face went beetroot red. 'And-and these are for you,' he added, handing Katie a bunch of daisies, which was sparkling considerably.

'Sparking daisies,' said Katie, holding the flowers at an arm length.

'Oh, I'm sorry about that,' Tom said, hanging his head slightly. 'One of my roommates tried setting the flowers on fire - ,'

A sudden, and rather violent rustle in a bush close to the two startled Katie. She immediately pulled her wand out on instinct, and edged closer to the shrub.

'Who's there?' she yelled at the bush.

Silence.

'If you don't come out, I'll come and get you,' said Katie, trying to sound as threatening as she could.

Tom watched on with fearful eyes with his wand drawn too. He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

'No Katie, I don't want you to get hurt,' he said firmly, pushing Katie back with surprisingly strong hands.

Tom rolled his sleeves back and raised his wand. '_Expel-_,'

He never got to finish it.

A tiny squirrel, or perhaps even a chipmunk, scrambled out of the bush and darted towards the direction of the Dark Forest. Katie let out a mixed laugh and a sigh of relief.

'It was a squirrel!' exclaimed Tom, throwing his hands dramatically in the air. 'I can't believe we thought it was something dangerous...'

The two exchanged nervous laughs and an uncomfortable glance before Tom offered to take Katie on a walk around the lake and then back into the castle.

But the squirrel was the least of their worries. In fact, what caused the bush to shake so hard was three hidden Gryffindor seventh-years; namely Lee, Fred and George.

'I can't _believe _Katie is going out with that bloody know-it-all Hufflepuff!' fumed Lee, his hands curled into tight fists.

'It ain't that bad,' said George, attempting to stand up from the crouched position he had been in.

'Yeah, you've still got us.' chimed in Fred.

'I didn't say I cared about Katie, I just can't believe she chose a slow-witted Hufflepuff like him,' said Lee irritably, pulling a snapped twig from his dreadlocks.

'Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,' commented George, grabbing the Invisiblity Cloak from behind the shrub.

Lee furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to protest, but Fred interrupted.

'C'mon, we better get up to the dorms before that stinkin' Norris cat starts lurking around again.'

'Yeah, good idea,' mumbled Lee absently, joining George under the cloak.

The three figures soon disappeared under the slinky material of the Invisibility Cloak and made their way up to the castle, with Lee's heart slightly heavier than usual.

'So, what do you like?' asked Tom, a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

Katie could tell the nerves were settling in.

'Like books, music... and that sort of thing?' said Katie.

'Yeah,' said Tom, looking slightly more relieved.

'Well... I like Quidditch books mainly, but I read the occasional novel, and music-wise... I unfortunately like soppy love songs, but I do like some alternate music...' Katie glanced upwards, racking her brain for ideas.

It was strange, with Tom, she had absolutely no idea of what she could say to him. But with Lee... she could say anything she wanted, and still feel extremely comfortable. A jerk in her thoughts broke into her mind. _No. You have nothing with Lee now. You don't need to talk to him, or need to think of him. He is a no-good selfish git._

Despite what she was telling herself, it didn't feel like she was particularly good at convincing herself. But who could help it? His chocolate brown eyes and that _hair_... and not to mention, his ridiculously funny humour... _Snap out of it, Katie! What are you doing to yourself_? Her brain screamed. It was true. She was torturing herself with annoying thoughts of that annoying git.

'Katie?' said Tom.

Her thoughts were gone in an instant flash.

'Oh sorry Tom. Must've dozed off... you know, I'm a little tired and all,' said Katie quickly, feigning a convincing yawn.

'Ah Katie,' grinned Tom. 'You should've told me, we could have gone up to the castle a while back,'

He checked his watch.

'It's almost half past eight... golly, have we been out this long?'

Katie nodded through mid-yawn.

'Better take a raincheck on this one then, huh?' asked Katie.

Tom gave her another grin. 'Yeah, probably,'

'Well, how about next weekend? We might go to Hogsmeade or something, yeah?' prompted Katie, in spite of her recent thoughts.

'Sure,' the grin on Tom's face widened.

As they slowly walked up the trail back to Hogwarts, Katie couldn't help but wonder why she was agreeing to another date with someone she didn't quite have a spark with. In fact, she found herself uncomfortable even talking about her sense in music... was it that he seemed too perfect? Well, too perfect was good for her. She couldn't afford to get hurt again, especially not so soon. Yes, Tom was right one for her. Lee and her obviously werent meant to be, and the past few weeks surely proved it well enough.

'So, it's a date?' queried Tom again, as they neared the portrait of the Fat Lady.

'Definitely,' replied Katie with a small smile.

Tom returned her smile with another one of his dazzling grins, and embraced her in a less constricting hug than she had prepared herself for. But just as they leant away from the hug, Tom quickly bent over and gave Katie a light kiss on her lips. She almost keeled over in surprise, but Tom gripped her hand firmly and then turned to sprint away into the darkness of the corridor.

'Um, bye,' she called after the darting figure.

No reply.

She paced over to the portrait of the Fat Lady, still in much of a daze.

'Password?' mumbled a half-asleep Fat Lady.

'Puttnesca,' replied Katie in a whisper.

The portrait swung open, and Katie quickly clambered in. What was she feeling? Happiness? No, it wasn't. It was so unexpected... and... _unwanted_, a tiny voice in her mind said.

'No!' she scolded. She felt odd for telling herself off.

But it was probably true. Katie had always imagined her first kiss to leave her in a ecstatic, unrealistic mood afterwards and an extreme surge of adrenaline. But she did not feel any of the emotions and feelings she had expected to feel. Perhaps it was the fact that Tom didn't kiss her properly. In fact, a peck would be the correct analogy. She didn't even feel it properly... but, with a person quite as attractive as Tom Reiner, she imagined she would have sensed at least_something_.

but there was no denying it, Tom was quite attractive. Tall with a mop of messy, dark brown hair that reminded Katie vaguely of Harry Potter's, stunning blue eyes and what seemed to be an extraordinarily shy personality. If _only _he was a little more daring, adventurous or even sly... but he wasn't. Katie could accept him for the person he was, couldn't she? He was caring, sensitive and selfless. But he was just missing that particular element... Katie shook the train of thoughts from her head. _Too late to be thinking about that now_, she reasoned. _Time for sleep_. Katie sank into the plushness of her pillow and soft quilt. The bed was already nicely warmed, from the bedpans the house-elves had put in. She gave in to her sleep and allowed for her mind to rest, sinking into a deep, dreamless sleep. Katie didn't even hear Angelina call her for breakfast the next morning.

* * *

_A/N First thing I want to say, is that I am sincerely sorry I haven't updated in such a long time, and hope dearly all of you haven't given up on this FanFic (I keep my promises to update ) and please continue reading! I will update, no matter what, although there may be a few weeks because my Yearly Exams are coming up, and I need to study for that later. But I should get up the next two chapters (hopefully) in time before the Yearlys, and you can read them until then P  
Please review to keep me informed that at least a few people are reading my fiction xP_

_Also, a big thankyou and huggles to **LCH8292 **hehe, I indeed like making them suffer P, **darkforest214 **and **Euraphadriel**! Also a big huggle and a cookie for **TooSweet4Words **for reviewing!)_

_I love you guys! You are my inspiration to write!_

_This is Charmed777 signing out,_

_arrivederci,_

_Charmed777._


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